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Variation of the meteor count rate and echo height during solar cycle 23 and 24

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 November 2018

B. Premkumar
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, Osmania University, Hyderabad - 500 007, India email: [email protected]
K. Chenna Reddy
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, Osmania University, Hyderabad - 500 007, India email: [email protected]
G. Yellaiah
Affiliation:
Department of Astronomy, Osmania University, Hyderabad - 500 007, India email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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The meteoroid ablation is an important source of upper atmosphere metal atoms. Many meteoroids ablate between 70 - 110 km and form an ionized plasma trail which is detected by radar technique. It is also known that the ablation heights of the meteors depend on various factors such as velocity, mass, and its composition, etc. The meteor ablation height provides new opportunities to gather information on the neutral atmosphere in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (MLT) region. In this study, we analysed the 11 years of meteor radar data (2005 - 2015), i.e., descending phase of solar cycle 23, and ascending phase of solar cycle 24, detected by all sky meteor radar at Thumba. We found that the solar activity influences the meteor ablation height, here, during the solar maxima meteor peak detection height rise to few hundred meters higher altitudes. We also examined the long term pattern of the meteor count rate which shows a decreasing trend and has good agreement with the sunspot number (SSN).

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2018 

References

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